The kind of employers we need more of

does anyone know the name & address/location of the Bakery featured in Life Transformers 2 last night (28dec09) on Ch8?

last night was one of those rare days i managed to catch the show & was caught up in the situation the family faced that i missed taking note of the Bakery name. =(

Very few employers in Singapore are willing to go that extra mile to hirer someone with disabilities, mental illness or learning difficulties. Too many employers are settling for the cheapest foreign labour they can get.

So when we come across one of these rare employers, it’s very heartwarming. I think the least we could do to encourage such “big hearts” is to patrionise their business and give them words of encouragement.

Hopefully this way, we can build up a culture of corporate social responsibility, and a brighter future for everyone in our society!

Good people should be appreciated!  = )

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Short synopsis for those who didn’t manage to catch the show : A family of 3 in a 1-room flat was featured. The mother passed on when the boys were 10. The father suffers from multiple health conditions, including schizophrenia. The 2 sons are now about 20, and suffer from episodes of schizophrenia too. They were unemployed at the time of the filming, as employers turn away people with schizophrenia and learning difficulties. The family shares 1 single packed meal (donated & delivered) for each meal, and on $360 welfare a month. To combat their hunger, the boys stock lots of water in the fridge to fill their stomach.

The show got the elder boy employed in a Bakery at Raffles Place area (stupidly i forgot to get the name). The younger is undergoing training to be able to work.

 

I really think this show is wonderful in showing us what goes on in a country with sufficient GDP that no one should have to live in such conditions. It’s wonderful too in showing us the everyday-heros in our society who help these people in need instead of shunning them.

One thing that struck me in particular was how the boy took 2 days before he managed to report to work successfully! The TV show had someone go down to help him, but discovered he left on his own, during the 1st day he was to report for work. Apparently he didn’t have the $4 he needed for transport on the bus, so he came home.

The only thing I would have liked better was how they handled his difficulty in just getting to work.

The hosts and staff from the TV prog were constantly giving him instructions, in that concerned-scolding way that many of us are so familiar with in our Chinese – Confucian culture. “Ma shi teng” (to scold is to love).  It’s all out of concern for the good of the boy, I know.

However, for people with learning difficulties or some mental illnesses, even this can prove really stressful, because you don’t really know what to do, and you’re afraid you’re gonna make mistakes again and disappoint other people.

These TV prog people were great with him, but I thought they’ll be perfect if they had looked for the areas where he showed initiative in trying to get to work, and praised him for it. On the 3rd day when he successfully arrived, I thought they should have heaped huge praises and encouragement on him. It really helps in getting him less stressed, builds positive esteem, and gives him  the next social reward (praise) to be motivated to work towards.

Perhaps they did, but didn’t feature on TV. It would have been nice if they did, then the public can also be educated on how to interact better with people with learning difficulties.

Overall, though, I think Life Transformers is the best show Ch 8 has every produced. Well done!

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